I believe that faith comes, and works naturally
follow. I have found that many Catholics believe
that without works, there is no salvation.

That said, if a man accepts the Father's
gift of salvation on his death bed, does
he receive salvation?

He has no works. I write you not as one to
criticize, but I really want to know how the
Catholic Church feels about this.

Brandon

{
If
a man accepts the gift of salvation on his
death bed with no works, is he saved? }

Mary
Ann replied:

Hi, Brandon —

Yes, he does.

The first work of faith is to believe,
to accept the salvation offered.

Mary Ann

John
replied:

Hi, Brandon —

Just to expound on Mary Ann's answer,
salvation is ultimately a work of
God in us, with which we must cooperate
by an assent of our free will. Jesus
is the author and perfecter of our
faith.

As St. Paul writes:

He who began a good work in you
will be faithful to complete it.
(Philippians 1:6)

In the twelfth chapter of Hebrews,
we read in the presence of God are "the
spirits of just men made perfect."
(Hebrews 12:23) As Catholics,
we believe that this process of being "made
perfect" starts with faith (and
baptism normally), but no matter
when we start this journey, God will
complete it in us, even after physical
death.

That is why the Church teaches that
most (saved) souls after death go
through a condition or place called
purgatory. It is the final process
of purification that God puts us
through. So a person accepting Christ
in his last breath stands forgiven
of all his sins, but he is not yet "made
perfect" so, in most instances,
there will be some kind of purification.
That is why we continue to pray for
the dead as well as the living. Not
that they might be saved; they are
saved.

Although they died in faith and are
saved we pray for them as they undergo
the last phase of their sanctification.
This in no way implies a gospel of
works for it is God who purifies
and sanctifies us with His love.

John

Please
report any and all typos or grammatical errors.
Suggestions for this web page and the web site can be sent to Mike Humphrey